Shape imparting form for garments



Feb. 1, 1966 L. MlLlAN ETAL 3,232,500

SHAPE IMPARTING FORM FOR GARMENTS Filed NOV. 19, 1964 Lazaro Mi/ian Hector F. l er ara V IN VEN TOR S I BY Q 7 b zsymg styles and construction,

United States Patent Ofiice 3,2325% Patented F eh. I, 1966 The present invention relates to a form which is functionally designed and structurally made to enable a user thereof to lit the upper or bodice part of a dress thereover for temporary handling and storage subsequent to launderng the same and which functions to impart shape thereto simulating the shape and appearance of the compone'nt parts thereof when being worn, and has to do, more particularly, with a conventional-type wire or an equivalent garment hanger and a sheet material novelly patterned form which is connectible to the frame of the hanger and contributes the garment shaping feature to v the hanger.

Persons conversant with the art to which the invention relates areaware that hook-suspended garment hangers of many and varied types and forms are old and that, likewise, shape-imparting and shape-maintaining forms and inserts for womens wearing apparel and garments are well known and are also of distinguishably different Hangers and forms singly and collectively are popularly used but primarily for display and sales purposes in store windows, fashion shops,

apparel merchandising stores and the like. l/Vhile the present invention is such that it could satisfactorily serve in a competitive manner in establishments such as those mentioned and for display it has been evolved and produced primarily, but not necessarily, for use by dry cleaners and garment repair and servicing places of business with the idea that when the form is attached to the hanger and a dress is fitted over both hanger and form, the form functions with requisite nicety to impart a shape to the garment preventing wrinkling and simulating the appearance when worn and adapts the same for use by delivery men and thereafter in ones clothes closet with or without the commonly used transparent or other types of garment bags.

As is perhaps already evident from the disclosure, particularly after having glanced at the views of the drawing, the garment hanger is and will continue to be of any conventional type. On the other hand the cardboard, sheet material, plast'c or equivalent form is of the utmost significance and is characterized by features not found, it is believed, in similarly constructed and performing prior art forms.

The herein disclosed form features as one of its components parts an adapter, that is adapter means which is provided at the upper end of the form and which can be capped or hooded over the garment hanger, which when properly attached stays put and which not only accommodates the hook and shank of the hanger but provides amply broad surfaces for adequate support of the shoulder portions of the bodice, waist or other cooperable part of the dress or other garment.

The adapter also is characterized by cooperating fiaps or flanges which assist in shaping and constructing the adapter means and which have their inner ends fashioned one with a hook and the other with a keeper slot or opening into wh'ch the hook is slipped by hand and fastened to thus define and provide the novel adapter.

The invention also features a form which is characterized by upper and lower half portions constituting sections or component parts of a generally rectangular bendable cardboard blank or panel. The lower part functions as a sort of a brace for the back of the waist part of the dress or garment and in addition cooperates with the junctional area of the upper part in defining a forwardly and downwardly sloping vest-like shield and wherein the adjacent portions of the two parts are fashlone-:1 into projecting breast-like cups which retain and impart the shape to the oriented portions of the front of the bodice cooperable therewith,

Then, too, novelty is predicated on a normally flat cardboard or equivalent panel which is marginally cut and provided with fold lines to define the adapter at the upper end and which is slitted at its median portion with the slits in line with each other and designating the upper and lower half sections or parts and also wherein the junctional portions adjacent the slits are provided with hooked keeper tongues fitting into keeper slots or openings provided therefor in such a manner that the portions of the cardboard which are hooked together are overlapped and define the desired protruding cuplike portions.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a cardboard or equivalent sheet material blank or panel wherein the component parts are cut, shaped and marginally delineated to provide the ooacting features necessary in forming the hand-made form and applying it to the garment hanger;

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective showing a conventional wire or equivalent garment hanger and showing, what is more important, the form, how it is fashioned to provide the features desired and how, in phantom lines, the bodice of a dress or garment is fitted in place; and

FIGURE 3 is a section on an enlarged scale taken on the plane of the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The normally flat cardboard or sheet material blank or panel is of general rectangular form when laid flat and is characterized by an upper generally rectangular part or section 6 and a complemental generally rectangular lower part or section 8. The bottom edge of the latter is denoted at 10 and the transverse edges or ends at 12. The bottom portion of the upper part is denoted generally at 14, the transverse ends at 16 and the upper end portion is denoted generally at 18.

Since the two companion sections or parts 6 and 8 are of the utmost in significance it should be noted that at the junctional portion, which is bendable as shown in FIG. 2 when in use, two aligned relatively short slits 20 are provided. These are closed at their inner ends and open at the outer ends through the marginal edges and they define left and right corner portions 22 and 24 for the lower section 8 and left and right corner portions 26 and 28 for the upper section. Each corner portion 22 and 24 is provided with a semi-crescent shaped keeper slot 30, the outer restricted end portions being denoted at 31. These slots in effect are similar to bayonet slots in that they serve to accommodate the hooked tongues or assembling and connecting hooks 32 which are carried by the respective corner portions 26 and 28. In other words, the corners 22 and 24 are ducked underneath and are overlapped by the two corners 26 and 28 and at the same time the tongues or keeper hooks 32 are engaged in their respective keeper slots 30 with the result that the two sections 6 and 8 provide a creased ridge as at 14A in FIG. 2. In other words, this is the same area 14 except that it has now been transformed into a prominent ridge or crease. Also, by overlapping the corner portions and interconnecting the tongues and slots it will be evident that the spaced cardboard portions are caused to protrude as at 34 and to thus provide breast-like cups. At the same time the lower half-portion 8 then becomes a stabilizing brace with the result that the lower edge It) is approximately in line with the bottom bar of the frame portion 36 of the wire garment :hanger 38. This is to say the edge is in a plane not only with the frame but with the axial suspension shank 40 and its pole-engaging book 42. However and in order to maintain the overall form within the confines of the dress or other garment in the manner shown in FIG. 2 it is necessary and desirable to construct the upper end portion of the section 6 so that it provides a :hanger capping and sheathing adapter. This adapter is characterized by outwardly diverging fold and crease lines, those at the left being denoted at 44 and 46 in FIG. 1 and those at the right by the numerals 48 and 50. The converging ends join with a cutout hole 52 which serves to accommodate the shank of the hook as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The foldlines 44 and 48 also define a pair of elongated flaps 54 and 56 whose inner adjacent ends are separably connectible as shown. One end is provided with a curvate hook-shaped tongue 58 which is adapted to be engaged with the keeper slot 60. In other words, by bending the cardboard on the lines 44 and 46 and 48 and 50 substantially V-shaped webs 62 are provided at the left and right and these Webs in turn provide outwardly and downwardly inclined shoulder portions which overlie the frame of the wire hanger and provide seats for the shoulder portions of the bodice of the dress or other garment in the manner shown in FIG. 2. It follows that by providing the cutout and shaped cardboard or equivalent bendable blank of FIG. 1 with the slits 20, the corner portions 22 and 26 at the left, 24 and 28 at the right and overlapping the corners and interconnecting the hooks 32 with their respective keeper slots 30 the median portion of the overall blank is fashioned into a form characterized by an upper outwardly and downwardly sloping part with the imitation breast cups 34 and the downwardly and rearwardly sloping brace or apron-like part 8 which engages the interior of the back of the dress and thus enables the garment hanger and form to cooperate in the manner shown and described.

It is believed that a careful consideration of the specification in conjunction with the views of the drawing will enable the reader to thoroughly understand the construction and delineation of the flat blank in FIG. 1 but also the manner in which the parts 6 and 8 are interconnected to provide the adapter and overall form depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3. Accordingly, a more extended description is thought to be unnecessary.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A shaping form for the upper portion of a dress comprising a generally rectangular panel including a top edge and a bottom edge and generally parallel side edges, each side edge having an inwardly extending slit-adjacentthe middle of the edge defining pairs of flaps orientated in overlapping relation and defining generally conical projections with the apex of each projection generally coinciding with the inner end of said slit, means detachably interconnecting the flaps for retaining them in overlapping position to retain the projections when in use thus simulating a pair of breast-like cups for positioning .within a dress to form the dress in accordance therewith, the top edge of said panel including a centrally disposed entrance slit terminating in a generally circular aperture receiving the hook shank of a conventional coat hanger, laterally extending diverging foldlines extending outwardly from the aperture defining shoulderportions overlying the shoulder portions of a garment hanger, means' interconnecting the edges of the entrance slit in overlapping relation thus orientating the portions of the panel between the foldines on each side of the panel in a downwardly inclined manner to engage the shoulder portions of a garment hanger and to form relatively wide supporting areas for engaging the dress thereby shaping the shoulder portions of the dress in a manner similar to the manner of the dress engaging the shoulders of a wearer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,115,169 10/1914 Cahn 22387 X 2,558,497 6/1951 Rosen 223-4-68 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

